Dead End Ahead

Dead End Ahead (Ecc. 1:13, 16-2:8, 18-22) People often have a hard time understanding what is really important (1 John 2:16-17) After Wilbur and Orville Wright’s successful flight on December 17, 1903, they joyfully sent a telegram to their sister in Dayton, Ohio. The message read: "First sustained flight, 59 seconds. Home for Christmas." The sister, also elated, ran all the way to the newspaper office with the telegram. Laying the message on the editor’s desk, she announced, "I thought you would want to see this for tomorrow’s paper." Sure enough, the next day it was in the paper, but you had to look for it. It was buried on page 16, underneath the obituaries. The notice said, "Local bicycle merchants to spend Christmas at home." In the film, "Places in the Heart,” a widow, played by Sally Field, tries to raise two young children during the depression. Each night, a blind man cranked up the old style Victrola and listened to a recording of a book for the blind. One day, the children sneak into his room and listen to one of the records. Suddenly they hear a noise -- someone is coming -and quickly put the record away, but as they do, they scratch the record. That night, the blind man goes to the room to listen to the recording. "New York Public Library Recording For the Blind," says the voice on the Victrola. "Trent’s Last Case. Chapter One. Between what is important and unimportant, who can understand." And then, because the children have scratched the record, the needle skips and over and over the voice says, "Between what is important and unimportant, who can understand? CLICK Between what is important and unimportant, who can understand? CLICK "Between what is important and unimportant, who can understand? CLICK. That phrase of the broken record becomes the theme of the entire movie as every character tries to seek out and discover what the difference is between what is important and unimportant. In the movie, a man struggles with his own passions. He loves his wife, but has an affair that threatens their marriage. Between lust and love, he hasn’t understood the difference between what is important and unimportant. Men and women stand before God and witnesses and say their vows to one another, promising to be husband and wife until death parts them. But as the years go by, for some, it becomes easy to put aside the vows of a marriage to engage in an affair. "I denied myself no pleasure," as Solomon wrote. The widow of the movie is offered an easy way out of her difficult situation. Split up the kids and live with relatives. She refuses, because between easy answers and the difficult task of being a caring parent, she has the wisdom to know the difference between what is important and unimportant. Throughout the movie, some of the characters fail to make that discovery. A few, however, have the wisdom to know the difference between what is important and unimportant. Throughout life, some people are able, but some are unable to know the difference between what is important and unimportant. I a recent magazine article a man who was being interviewed about his beautiful home. He gave them the Better Homes and Garden type of tour, and pointed out the great

treasures of his home. The person conducting the interview asked, "what’s the most important thing in the house--is it the Rembrandt hanging in the hallway?" "Yes," said the owner of the house, "Or at least it was until last summer when the river flooded and house was being flooded. For a while the Rembrandt was not nearly as important as the inflatable raft out in the garage." A Meaningless/Unfulfilling Life Solomon searched in vain to find a sense of lasting satisfaction and fulfillment in his life. Mark Twain expressed similar thoughts about the meaningless of life in view of man’s inevitable death. Shortly before his death, he wrote, “A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; ...those they love are taken from them, and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. It (the release) comes at last—the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them—and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence,...a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever.” True meaning and joy in life can only be found through the grace of God (Ps. 145:16, John 10:10) and in knowing and doing God’s will. Where your treasure is, your heart is also (Matt. 6:21) Solomon made the mistake of leaving God out of his pursuits Solomon also made the mistake of acting for himself Self-centeredness leads to despair Intellectual pursuits Human wisdom = Applied human knowledge Foolishness to God (1 Cor. 1:20-24; 3:19-20) Godly wisdom = Gift from God (James 3:13-17) Involves study of His Word and Direction from His Holy Spirit Physical Pleasures We live in a culture that idolizes physical pleasure We need to balance physical development with spiritual development (1 Tim. 4:7-8) Giving priority to developing our relationship with God

Moses chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Heb. 11:25) Accumulating wealth/possessions Involves planning and time Barna Research Group - the average American adult believes he needs an additional $8,000 - $11,000 per year to live comfortably. Tracking studies show, however, that even when adults reach or exceed the income levels to which they aspired, they still claim they need another $8,000 - $11,000 to live comfortably. J. D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in modern times, was once asked how much money was enough. His response was “just a little bit more” People who exploit others usually end up alone More than half of the homeowners in California spend 50% or more of their monthly income on their mortgage payment. The average American is in debt more than $38,000 according to Consumer Report’s Money Book. The average credit cardholder carries a balance of $8,367 from month to month. (That’s a 160% increase since the past decade) paying an average of 18.3% interest. If you’re doing the math that amounts to $929.70 a year in interest payments. Personal Achievement/Fame Remember the Tower of Babel: “Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves …” (Gen. 11:4) Americans are fascinated with American Idol and all its sister idols. At least it’s up front about what it is, idolatry! Chuck Swindoll summarizes 3 lessons from Ecclesiastes: (1) The sensual lure of something better tomorrow robs us of joys offered today. (2) The personal temptation to escape is always stronger than the realization of its consequence. (3) The final destination, if God is absent from the scene, will not satisfy.